Conventional automatic gain control (AGC) systems are generally designed to provide a constant output signal with an input signal that varies in amplitude over a given range. These systems are used in a variety of applications including radio communication devices. Present AGC circuits employ feedback systems to allow the gain of the circuit to vary in relationship to the input signal. As the input signal is increased or decreased, a constant level is maintained at the output. Several problems are in general encountered in typical AGC circuits. The first problems is associated with voice lulls that are present in conversational speech. Voice lulls are pauses that are present in the utterance of words. During a voice lull, the signal at the input of an AGC circuit is reduced to a very low level causing a surge in the gain of the AGC in order to maintain a constant level at the output. This surge in the gain causes annoying noise pumping which is a sudden surge in noise level. A second problem with conventional AGC systems, has to do with background noise. In applications, where background noise is high, the signal level becomes unintelligible. This is due to the fact that the gain of the amplifier does not increase according to the level of input signal because of the overriding noise power. Another problem associated with conventional AGC circuits is their dynamic range fixity. This problem is encountered when an AGC circuit is expected to operate in whisper mode (very low level signal, hence very high gain) or high noise mode (high level signals, hence low gain). The deficiencies of the prior art have limited the use of AGC circuits, particularly in portable and mobile communication devices. It can therefore be appreciated that a need exists for an AGC circuit that overcomes the deficiency of the prior art.